Spectator view tracking of virtual reality (VR) user in VR environments

ABSTRACT

A method, system, computer readable media and cloud systems are provided for generating views of a virtual reality environment for a spectator. One example method includes enabling a spectator to view into a virtual reality environment, and control what specific content within the environment the spectator wishes to see. Motions of an HMD worn by an HMD player can be tracked so as to provide a geared spectator view into the virtual reality environment. The gearing of the spectator view enables a spectator to view the virtual reality content in a more normal way which is not tied to the strict movements of the HMD worn by the HMD player. The gearing effects can be programmable or can be set based on the content being navigated by the HMD player or preferences of the individual spectators.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This Application claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/310,612, filed on Mar. 18, 2016, and entitled“Spectator View Tracking of Virtual Reality (VR) user in VREnvironments,” which is herein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to virtual reality (VR) environmentcontent presented in head mounted displays (HMDs), and methods andsystems for integrating access to VR environments by spectating usersand methods for enabling users to spectate dynamically changingenvironments being navigated by HMD users that interact in VRenvironments, and associated apparatus and methods.

BACKGROUND

The video game industry has seen many changes over the years. Ascomputing power has expanded, developers of video games have likewisecreated game software that takes advantage of these increases incomputing power. To this end, video game developers have been codinggames that incorporate sophisticated operations and mathematics toproduce very detailed and engaging gaming experiences.

Example gaming platforms include the Sony Playstation®, SonyPlaystation2® (PS2), Sony Playstation3® (PS3), and Sony Playstation4®(PS4), each of which is sold in the form of a game console. As is wellknown, the game console is designed to connect to a display (typically atelevision) and enable user interaction through handheld controllers.The game console is designed with specialized processing hardware,including a CPU, a graphics synthesizer for processing intensivegraphics operations, a vector unit for performing geometrytransformations, and other glue hardware, firmware, and software. Thegame console may be further designed with an optical disc reader forreceiving game discs for local play through the game console. Onlinegaming is also possible, where a user can interactively play against orwith other users over the Internet. As game complexity continues tointrigue players, game and hardware manufacturers have continued toinnovate to enable additional interactivity and computer programs.

A growing trend in the computer gaming industry is to develop games thatincrease the interaction between the user and the gaming system. One wayof accomplishing a richer interactive experience is to use wireless gamecontrollers whose movement is tracked by the gaming system in order totrack the player's movements and use these movements as inputs for thegame. Generally speaking, gesture input refers to having an electronicdevice such as a computing system, video game console, smart appliance,etc., react to some gesture made by the player and captured by theelectronic device.

Another way of accomplishing a more immersive interactive experience isto use a head-mounted display. A head-mounted display is worn by theuser and can be configured to present various graphics, such as a viewof a virtual space. The graphics presented on a head-mounted display cancover a large portion or even all of a user's field of view. Hence, ahead-mounted display can provide a visually immersive experience to theuser.

It is in this context that embodiments of the disclosure arise.

SUMMARY

Implementations of the present disclosure include methods and systemsthat are used for enabling spectating virtual reality environments andcontent being encountered, viewed and/or interfaced with by HMD users.In some embodiments, methods and systems are described that enable usersto spectate in a VR user's VR environment via pre-authoredspots/locations in the virtual reality space. In another embodiment, aspectating mode enables a user to use a VR user's gaze direction tofocus or identify specific locations within VR environment. By way ofexample, a gaze direction of the VR user can identify some locationwithin the VR environment that the spectator can identify. In anotherembodiment, audio controls are adjusted and/or modified to enable aspectator to focus his listening to specific locations within VRenvironment of VR user. For example, the spectating user can decide thatsome location within the VR environment is interesting, and sounds tothe spectating user can then be adjusted to provide the spectating usersounds that would surround the spectating user, as if the spectatinguser is actually located at that identified VR environment location.

In one embodiment, a method for processing virtual reality content forviewing by spectators is provided. The method includes processing, at acomputer, a virtual reality stream associated with interaction by a headmounted display (HMD) worn by an HMD player. The HMD player isconfigured to navigate a virtual reality environment, and the navigationof the virtual reality environment produces the virtual reality streamhaving an HMD player view. The method includes receiving, at thecomputer, a request associated with an HMD of a spectator to view thevirtual reality stream via an HMD of the spectator. The method includessending, by the computer, a feed of the virtual reality stream to theHMD of the spectator. The feed of the virtual reality stream providingan HMD spectator view into the virtual reality environment beingnavigated by the HMD player. The method includes adjusting, by thecomputer, the HMD spectator view into the virtual reality environment inaccordance with a gearing ratio. The gearing ratio defining a rate atwhich the HMD spectator view follows the HMD player view as the HMDplayer navigates the virtual reality environment.

In one embodiment, methods are provided for conveying images into avirtual reality environment to spectators, in a way that decouples thestrict following of the view directions of an HMD player. By way ofexample, spectators can be provided with views into a virtual realityenvironment, which may follow the views of an HMD player, but may berendered to the spectator with a gearing effect, which reduces the tightcoupling of the motions of the HMD player to that of the images renderedfor an HMD spectator. By way of example, a virtual camera can beprovided as a view into the virtual-reality environment, and thatvirtual camera provides the view for a spectator. The virtual camera canprovide that view in a way that's tied to the views generated for an HMDplayer, but are slightly decoupled by a gearing effect. For instance, ifthe HMD player moves his or her head quickly around a virtualenvironment, the images provided to the HMD spectator can be throttleddown by a gearing ratio, so that the images are not quickly moving forthe spectator in a disorienting way.

In still another embodiment, a method for processing virtual realitycontent for viewing by spectators is provided. The method includesreceiving, at a server, a virtual reality stream associated withinteraction by a head mounted display (HMD) player. The HMD player isconfigured to navigate a virtual reality environment, and the navigationof the virtual reality environment produces the virtual reality streamhaving an HMD player view. The method includes receiving, at the server,a request via a device of a spectator to view the virtual reality streamvia an HMD of the spectator. Then, sending by the server a feed of thevirtual reality stream to the device of the spectator. The feed of thevirtual reality stream provides an HMD spectator view into the virtualreality environment that is enabled to be a same view and distinct viewsrelative to the HMD player view. The method further includes adjusting,by the server, the HMD spectator view into the virtual realityenvironment in accordance with a gearing ratio. The gearing ratiodefines a rate at which the HMD spectator view follows the HMD playerview. In some embodiments, the rate may be constant as set by thegearing, or the rate can change during the movement, e.g., bydynamically changing the gearing as the movement occurs.

In some embodiments, the gearing ratio is dynamically adjusted by theserver based on content encountered in the virtual reality environment.

In some embodiments, the gearing ratio is dynamically adjusted by theserver based on a preference of the spectator.

In some embodiments, the gearing ratio provides a delay in following theHMD player view by the HMD spectator view.

In some embodiments, the gearing ratio skips or reduces following theHMD player view when the HMD player view moves faster than a delayimparted by the gearing ratio.

In some embodiments, the gearing ratio is adjustable based on a physicsmetric associated to a virtual rubber band connection between the HMDplayer view and the HMD spectator view.

A method, system, computer readable media and cloud systems are providedfor generating views of a virtual reality environment for a spectator.One example method includes enabling a spectator to view into a virtualreality environment, and control what specific content within theenvironment the spectator wishes to see. By allowing the spectator tomove closer or further away from specific content, the spectator'smovement toward or away will cause an automatic scaling of contentwithin the virtual-reality content being generated by an HMD player,that is sharing the content with the spectator. Other features includeallowing a spectator to adjust the viewing angle of the content. Theviewing angle of the content can be moved by allowing the spectator toreach into the content or control the content scene, and then positionthe content in the viewing angle that is most comfortable to theposition of the spectator.

In another embodiment, a method for processing virtual reality contentfor viewing by spectators is provided. The method includes receiving, ata server, a virtual reality stream associated with interaction by a headmounted display (HMD) player. The HMD player is configured to navigate avirtual reality environment, and the navigation of the virtual realityenvironment produces the virtual reality stream having an HMD playerview. The method further receives, at the server, a request via a deviceof a spectator to view the virtual reality stream via an HMD of thespectator. The server sends a feed of the virtual reality stream to thedevice of the spectator, and the feed of the virtual reality streamproviding an HMD spectator view into the virtual reality environmentthat is enabled to be a same view and distinct views relative to the HMDplayer view. The method then includes, receiving, by the server,position information of the HMD of the spectator. The server thenprocesses an up-scaling of a portion of the virtual reality environmentwhen the position indicates that the HMD of the spectator has movedcloser to content in the virtual reality environment. A down-scaling ofthe portion of the virtual reality environment is processed when theposition indicates that the HMD of the spectator has moved further fromcontent in the virtual reality environment.

In another embodiment, a method for processing virtual reality contentfor viewing by spectators is provided. The method includes receiving, ata server, a virtual reality stream associated with interaction by a headmounted display (HMD) player. The HMD player is configured to navigate avirtual reality environment, and the navigation of the virtual realityenvironment produces the virtual reality stream having an HMD playerview. The method includes receiving, at the server, a request via adevice of a spectator to view the virtual reality stream via an HMD ofthe spectator. The server sends a feed of the virtual reality stream tothe device of the spectator. The feed of the virtual reality streamproviding an HMD spectator view into the virtual reality environmentthat is enabled to be a same view and distinct views relative to the HMDplayer view. The server receives an instruction from the spectator toset a custom viewing orientation of the virtual reality environment,then adjusting by the server, the feed of the virtual reality stream sothat the custom viewing orientation of the virtual reality environmentis sent to the HMD of the spectator.

In yet another embodiment, a method for generating views of a virtualreality environment for a spectator is provided. The method includesgenerating a virtual reality environment to be rendered for a headmounted display (HMD) of an HMD player. The HMD player is provided withan HMD view that is controlled by movement of the HMD by the HMD player.Then, providing a spectator view into the virtual reality environment.The spectator view is associated with a viewing spot directed into thevirtual reality environment. The viewing spot is decoupled from the HMDview. In some examples, multiple viewing spots are pre-authored and thespectator is provided with different ones of the viewing spots as theHMD players move around the virtual reality environment.

In some embodiments, movement of the HMD changes the HMD view, andwherein having the viewing spot of the spectator view decoupled producesa delayed movement of the viewing spot to follow the HMD view.

In some embodiments, the delayed movement of the viewing spot functionto follow the HMD view at a slower rate than movements of the HMD.

In some embodiments, the viewing spot is one of a plurality of viewingspots associated with the virtual reality environment.

In some embodiments, select ones of the viewing spots are selected forthe spectator view.

In some embodiments, select ones of the viewing spots are selected forthe spectator based on specific content identified to be interesting inthe virtual reality environment.

In some embodiments, the spectator view is part of the HMD view.

In some embodiments, the spectator view is greater than the HMD view.

In some embodiments, a gaze direction of the HMD player is used toidentify content being viewed by the HMD player to the spectator.

In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving selection ofa listening zone in the virtual reality environment by the spectator,wherein selection of the listening zone provides audio to the spectatorfrom a perspective of the listening zone.

In another embodiment, a method executed by a server for generatingviews of a virtual reality environment for a spectator is provided. Themethod includes receiving, by the server, a feed of a virtual realityenvironment rendered for a head mounted display (HMD) of an HMD player.The HMD player is provided with an HMD view that is controlled bymovement of the HMD by the HMD player. The feed of the virtual realityenvironment is shared to a website. The method also includes receiving,by the server, a request from the spectator to access the virtualreality environment from the website. Then, sending, by the server, aspectator view into the virtual reality environment to a device of thespectator. The spectator view is associated with a viewing spot directedinto the virtual reality environment, and the viewing spot is decoupledfrom the HMD view. The spectator view is updated to other viewing spotsdirected into the virtual reality environment as the HMD player movesaround the virtual reality environment.

In some embodiments, the viewing spots are pre-authored viewing spotsthat are selected to provide interesting views into the virtual realityenvironment as the HMD player traverses the virtual reality environment.

In some embodiments, spectator is popped from one to another of thepre-authored viewing spots.

In some embodiments, a profile of the spectator identifies a preferencefor a type of view or content, and the preference is used to selectwhich ones of the pre-authored viewing spots are provided to thespectator.

In some embodiments, the device of the spectator is one of an HMD usedby the spectator or a television screen used by the spectator, or acomputer screen used by the spectator, or hand-held device screen usedby the spectator.

In some embodiments, the spectator is one of a plurality of spectatorsthat provides access to view the HMD view of the HMD player.

In some embodiments, the website provides a selection of options ofother HMD views of other HMD players, such that the spectator can selectspecific ones of the HMD views and see the respective virtual realityenvironments from one or more spectator views.

Other aspects and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent fromthe following detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles ofthe disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure may be better understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for interactive gameplay of a video game, inaccordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2A illustrates a head-mounted display (HMD), in accordance with anembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2B illustrates one example of an HMD user interfacing with a clientsystem, and the client system providing content to a second screendisplay, which is referred to as a second screen, in accordance with oneembodiment.

FIG. 3 conceptually illustrates the function of an HMD in conjunctionwith an executing video game, in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an HMD player navigating a virtualreality environment, and one or more spectators viewing thevirtual-reality content.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of an HMD player navigating the virtualreality environment, and an HMD spectator being provided with differentviewing spots within the virtual-reality environment, which can beselected or pre-authored based on interesting content within thevirtual-reality scene.

FIG. 6 example of an HMD player viewing a virtual reality scene, and aview provided to a spectator, from a virtual camera that is generatingimages that are coupled to the view of the HMD with a gearing effect,such that the HMD spectator is provided with smooth transitioning orviewing of the content navigated by the HMD player.

FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate examples of an HMD player moving his head indifferent directions, and having a virtual camera follow the movementsof the HMD player with a gear to spectator view, in accordance with oneembodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example system, which allows for VR sharing tospectators, in one embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates components of a head-mounted display, in accordancewith an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a Game System 1400, according to variousembodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following implementations of the present disclosure provide methods,systems, computer readable media and cloud systems, for providingspectators of HMD players customized views that improve the experienceof spectators. In one embodiment, spectators are provided with theability to select a particular virtual reality (VR) environment to view,e.g., such as one being generated in response to an HMD player.

Several embodiments are provided herein, which define ways for conveyingimages into a virtual reality environment to spectators, in a way thatdecouples the strict following of the view directions of an HMD player.By way of example, spectators can be provided with views into a virtualreality environment, which may follow the views of an HMD player, butmay be rendered to the spectator with a gearing effect, which reducesthe tight coupling of the motions of the HMD player to that of theimages rendered for an HMD spectator.

By way of example, a virtual camera can be provided as a view into thevirtual-reality environment, and that virtual camera provides the viewfor a spectator. The virtual camera can provide that view in a waythat's tied to the views generated for an HMD player, but are slightlydecoupled by a gearing effect. For instance, if the HMD player moves hisor her head quickly around a virtual environment, the images provided tothe HMD spectator can be throttled down by a gearing ratio, so that theimages are not quickly moving for the spectator in a disorienting way.

In some embodiments, a virtual rubber band connection is providedbetween the HMD of the HMD player and the virtual camera that providesspectator views into the virtual-reality scenes. The virtual over bandconnection will define physics parameters that dictate how close thevirtual camera will ride to the view of the HMD of the HMD player, canalso define the tension provided between movements of the HMD of the HMDplayer and reactions by the virtual camera, and also provide for dynamicsetting of gearing ratio's for allowing the virtual camera to catch upor keep up with the motions of the HMD worn by the HMD player.

In one embodiment, the physics parameters may define a length of thevirtual rubber band, an elasticity of the virtual rubber band, a virtualweight of the virtual rubber band, a gravity parameter of the virtualrubber band, a relative gravity direction of the virtual rubber band, orcombinations thereof. The physics parameters may be in addition to thegearing set, or gearing adjusted dynamically by the server or servers ofthe VR streaming system that provides the spectator views.

In one embodiment, spectators may be provided with the capability ofviewing into a virtual reality environment, and controlling the scalingautomatically of the content being viewed by moving toward or away fromthe virtual-reality content items. In one embodiment, the automaticscaling of the content being viewed by the spectator will not modify thecontent being viewed by the HMD player, but provides an additional levelof freedom to the spectator to view specific content within the virtualenvironment, without being tied to the view of the HMD player. As usedherein, being tied to the view of the HMD means that the spectator isprovided the same view and same angles into views, an motions of the HMDplayer are likewise also forced onto the spectator's view.

As an advantage, embodiments described herein provide spectators withdecoupled views from the view of the HMD player, which enriches theability to look at specific features within the virtual environment thatmay be interesting to the spectator, which provides a freedom to move atdifferent rates and view different things in the VR environment beingnavigated by the HMD player.

As mentioned below, the scaling feature can provide differentperspective views into or of specific VR content, similar to as if thespectator were a giant looking down into specific content. For instance,if the spectator looks closer or moves his or her head toward a specificitem in the virtual-reality environment, the virtual environment contentwill appear closer and the spectator will appear or feel as if thespectator were a giant.

In further embodiments, processing is provided to enable spectators tointeract with the virtual-reality environment, and change the viewingangle of the virtual-reality environment. This feature allows, forexample, a spectator to reach into the content, grab or hold the contentand move the content to another viewing angle. The viewing angle mayprovide a better viewing position for the spectator, which is differentthan if the spectator were standing straight up or sitting straight up.Movements and adjustments of the viewing angles by the spectator wouldnot modify the content to the HMD player, who is sharing the HMDexperience with one or more spectators. In this manner, multiplespectators can have or view the content at different angles or positionsor vantage points, which may be most comfortable to the individualspectator.

Spectators, in one embodiment, are provided with new views andperspectives into the virtual reality environment, which may bepre-authored. Pre-authoring of virtual reality viewing spots within thevirtual reality environment can facilitate spectators to view or focuson interesting content within the virtual reality scene, as navigated byan HMD player. In one embodiment, more than one viewing spot can bepre-authored within different locations in areas of a game, content,multimedia, or generally content being navigated by the HMD player.These views can be preselected, and assigned to the spectator based onthe navigation by the HMD player.

In one embodiment, these views can be provided in a smooth presentationformat, which are not hard-tied or locked to the exact viewing directionof the HMD player. Furthermore, the views provided to spectators canalso be provided in such a way that prevents fast movements of thecontent to the spectators, as would be typical if the same exact viewgenerated by the HMD player were to be shown to the spectator. Becausethe spectator is not controlling the view in the virtual reality scene,if the spectator's view were tied directly to the HMD player, thecontent presented to the spectator would have periods of fast movement,such as when the HMD player moves his or her head up down to the rightor in different directions.

In one configuration, the spectator views can follow the movements ofthe HMD player, but with a smoother delay that includes gearing ratioadjustments, so as to prevent disorientation of the spectator. In otherembodiments, the spectator views can be fixed to different locationswithin the virtual reality environment. These fixed locations can bepredefined spots that are selected by the content developer, aspotentially being interesting to the spectator. In an alternateembodiment, the spots can move, e.g., to follow the HMD player.

In some embodiments, the predefined spots can be selected for specificspectators, based on the spectator's preferences. If the spectator has apreference of viewing certain types of content, certain spots within thevirtual-reality content can be selected for that spectator. Differentspectators can therefore have different content selected from differentspots and points of view into the virtual reality scene, as navigated bythe HMD player. Furthermore, because multiple spectators can view theHMD player content, e.g. via a website that provides twitch-typesharing, the different spectators can have different viewing spotswithin the virtual-reality content. In alternate embodiments, allspectators can view the same content from the same viewing spots.

Furthermore, if spectators use a website that provides twitch-typesharing, many HMD player content feeds can be provided and be madeselectable by the various spectators. The feeds can be shared via theinternet, from a computer of the HMD player to a website, which then canpublish the content and/or make it available for selection for view byspectators. By way of example, if the HMD player decides to share theHMD experience, that experience can be selected by a spectator. Thespectator can then be provided with functionality for selecting thetypes of views, or be provided with specific pre-authored spots forviewing the virtual-reality content generated by the navigation of theHMD player. In one embodiment, providing a decoupled viewing spots intothe virtual-reality content to spectators, avoids having to provide ahard fixed view that is typically provided from the perspective of theactual HMD player.

In some embodiments, the view provided to spectator can also be from theperspective of the actual HMD player, but can be provided with aslightly decoupled connection, referred to as a rubber band link orcoupling. The rubber band link provides for a viewing spot that issimilar to a virtual camera positioned above the head of the HMD player.The virtual camera that provides that view can move and follow the viewof the HMD player, with a slight delay behind the movements of the HMDplayer. By way of example, if the HMD player looks to the left quickly,the virtual camera can shift slowly to the left following the HMDplayers viewing direction. If the HMD player moves his head up and downquickly, the delay of the virtual camera can avoid any movement eitherup or down, since the direction of the HMD player returns to straightahead.

In still further embodiments, the spectator can be provided withdifferent viewing spots into the virtual-reality environment, which mayalso include looking at the HMD player or the character being controlledby the HMD player. In one embodiment, this configuration can define atype of automatic cameraman angle, which is viewing the HMD player'scharacter as it traverses the virtual environment. The angle provided tothe spectator is therefore more interesting and can shift or pop betweendifferent viewing spots, as the HMD player traverses to differentlocations within the environment, the game, the content, or scenes.

In one embodiment, the methods, systems, image capture objects, sensorsand associated interface objects (e.g., gloves, controllers, hands,etc.) are configured to process data that is configured to be renderedin substantial real time on a display screen. The display may be thedisplay of a head mounted display (HMD), a display of a second screen, adisplay of a portable device, a computer display, a display panel, adisplay of one or more remotely connected users (e.g., whom may beviewing content or sharing in an interactive experience), or the like.

It will be obvious, however, to one skilled in the art, that the presentdisclosure may be practiced without some or all of these specificdetails. In other instances, well known process operations have not beendescribed in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for interactive gameplay of a video game, inaccordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. A user 100 is shownwearing a head-mounted display (HMD) 102. The HMD 102 is worn in amanner similar to glasses, goggles, or a helmet, and is configured todisplay a video game or other content to the user 100. The HMD 102provides a very immersive experience to the user by virtue of itsprovision of display mechanisms in close proximity to the user's eyes.Thus, the HMD 102 can provide display regions to each of the user's eyeswhich occupy large portions or even the entirety of the field of view ofthe user.

In one embodiment, the HMD 102 can be connected to a computer 106. Theconnection to computer 106 can be wired or wireless. The computer 106can be any general or special purpose computer known in the art,including but not limited to, a gaming console, personal computer,laptop, tablet computer, mobile device, cellular phone, tablet, thinclient, set-top box, media streaming device, etc. In one embodiment, thecomputer 106 can be configured to execute a video game, and output thevideo and audio from the video game for rendering by the HMD 102.

The user 100 may operate a glove interface object 104 a to provide inputfor the video game. Additionally, a camera 108 can be configured tocapture images of the interactive environment in which the user 100 islocated. These captured images can be analyzed to determine the locationand movements of the user 100, the HMD 102, and the glove interfaceobject 104 a. In one embodiment, the glove interface object 104 aincludes a light which can be tracked to determine its location andorientation.

As described below, the way the user interfaces with the virtual realityscene displayed in the HMD 102 can vary, and other interface devices inaddition to glove interface objects 104 a, can be used. For instance,single-handed controllers can also be used, as well as two-handedcontrollers. In some embodiments, the controllers can be trackedthemselves by tracking lights associated with the controllers, ortracking of shapes, sensors, and inertial data associated with thecontrollers. Using these various types of controllers, or even simplyhand gestures that are made and captured by one or more cameras, it ispossible to interface, control, maneuver, interact with, and participatein the virtual reality environment presented on the HMD 102.

Additionally, the HMD 102 may include one or more lights which can betracked to determine the location and orientation of the HMD 102. Thecamera 108 can include one or more microphones to capture sound from theinteractive environment. Sound captured by a microphone array may beprocessed to identify the location of a sound source. Sound from anidentified location can be selectively utilized or processed to theexclusion of other sounds not from the identified location. Furthermore,the camera 108 can be defined to include multiple image capture devices(e.g. stereoscopic pair of cameras), an IR camera, a depth camera, andcombinations thereof.

In another embodiment, the computer 106 functions as a thin client incommunication over a network with a cloud gaming provider 112. The cloudgaming provider 112 maintains and executes the video game being playedby the user 102. The computer 106 transmits inputs from the HMD 102, theglove interface object 104 a and the camera 108, to the cloud gamingprovider, which processes the inputs to affect the game state of theexecuting video game. The output from the executing video game, such asvideo data, audio data, and haptic feedback data, is transmitted to thecomputer 106. The computer 106 may further process the data beforetransmission or may directly transmit the data to the relevant devices.For example, video and audio streams are provided to the HMD 102,whereas a vibration feedback command is provided to the glove interfaceobject 104 a.

In one embodiment, the HMD 102, glove interface object 104 a, and camera108, may themselves be networked devices that connect to the network 110to communicate with the cloud gaming provider 112. For example, thecomputer 106 may be a local network device, such as a router, that doesnot otherwise perform video game processing, but which facilitatespassage of network traffic. The connections to the network by the HMD102, glove interface object 104 a, and camera 108 may be wired orwireless.

Additionally, though embodiments in the present disclosure may bedescribed with reference to a head-mounted display, it will beappreciated that in other embodiments, non-head mounted displays may besubstituted, including without limitation, a television, projector, LCDdisplay screen, portable device screen (e.g. tablet, smartphone, laptop,etc.) or any other type of display that can be configured to rendervideo and/or provide for display of an interactive scene or virtualenvironment in accordance with the present embodiments.

FIG. 2A illustrates a head-mounted display (HMD), in accordance with anembodiment of the disclosure. As shown, the HMD 102 includes a pluralityof lights 200A-H. Each of these lights may be configured to havespecific shapes, and can be configured to have the same or differentcolors. The lights 200A, 200B, 200C, and 200D are arranged on the frontsurface of the HMD 102. The lights 200E and 200F are arranged on a sidesurface of the HMD 102. And the lights 200G and 200H are arranged atcorners of the HMD 102, so as to span the front surface and a sidesurface of the HMD 102. It will be appreciated that the lights can beidentified in captured images of an interactive environment in which auser uses the HMD 102. Based on identification and tracking of thelights, the location and orientation of the HMD 102 in the interactiveenvironment can be determined. It will further be appreciated that someof the lights may or may not be visible depending upon the particularorientation of the HMD 102 relative to an image capture device. Also,different portions of lights (e.g. lights 200G and 200H) may be exposedfor image capture depending upon the orientation of the HMD 102 relativeto the image capture device.

In one embodiment, the lights can be configured to indicate a currentstatus of the HMD to others in the vicinity. For example, some or all ofthe lights may be configured to have a certain color arrangement,intensity arrangement, be configured to blink, have a certain on/offconfiguration, or other arrangement indicating a current status of theHMD 102. By way of example, the lights can be configured to displaydifferent configurations during active gameplay of a video game(generally gameplay occurring during an active timeline or within ascene of the game) versus other non-active gameplay aspects of a videogame, such as navigating menu interfaces or configuring game settings(during which the game timeline or scene may be inactive or paused). Thelights might also be configured to indicate relative intensity levels ofgameplay. For example, the intensity of lights, or a rate of blinking,may increase when the intensity of gameplay increases. In this manner, aperson external to the user may view the lights on the HMD 102 andunderstand that the user is actively engaged in intense gameplay, andmay not wish to be disturbed at that moment.

The HMD 102 may additionally include one or more microphones. In theillustrated embodiment, the HMD 102 includes microphones 204A and 204Bdefined on the front surface of the HMD 102, and microphone 204C definedon a side surface of the HMD 102. By utilizing an array of microphones,sound from each of the microphones can be processed to determine thelocation of the sound's source. This information can be utilized invarious ways, including exclusion of unwanted sound sources, associationof a sound source with a visual identification, etc.

The HMD 102 may also include one or more image capture devices. In theillustrated embodiment, the HMD 102 is shown to include image capturedevices 202A and 202B. By utilizing a stereoscopic pair of image capturedevices, three-dimensional (3D) images and video of the environment canbe captured from the perspective of the HMD 102. Such video can bepresented to the user to provide the user with a “video see-through”ability while wearing the HMD 102. That is, though the user cannot seethrough the HMD 102 in a strict sense, the video captured by the imagecapture devices 202A and 202B (e.g., or one or more front facing cameras108' disposed on the outside body of the HMD 102, as shown in FIG. 3below) can nonetheless provide a functional equivalent of being able tosee the environment external to the HMD 102 as if looking through theHMD 102. Such video can be augmented with virtual elements to provide anaugmented reality experience, or may be combined or blended with virtualelements in other ways. Though in the illustrated embodiment, twocameras are shown on the front surface of the HMD 102, it will beappreciated that there may be any number of externally facing camerasinstalled on the HMD 102, oriented in any direction. For example, inanother embodiment, there may be cameras mounted on the sides of the HMD102 to provide additional panoramic image capture of the environment.

FIG. 2B illustrates one example of an HMD 102 user interfacing with aclient system 106, and the client system 106 providing content to asecond screen display, which is referred to as a second screen 107. Aswill be described below, the client system 106 may include integratedelectronics for processing the sharing of content from the HMD 102 tothe second screen 107. Other embodiments may include a separate device,module, connector, that will interface between the client system andeach of the HMD 102 and the second screen 107. In this general example,user 100 is wearing HMD 102 and is playing a video game using controller104. The interactive play by user 100 will produce video game content(VGC), which is displayed interactively to the HMD 102.

In one embodiment, the content being displayed in the HMD 102 is sharedto the second screen 107. In one example, a person viewing the secondscreen 107 can view the content being played interactively in the HMD102 by user 100. In another embodiment, another user (e.g. player 2) caninteract with the client system 106 to produce second screen content(SSC). The second screen content produced by a player also interactingwith the controller 104 (or any type of user interface, gesture, voice,or input), may be produced as SSC to the client system 106, which can bedisplayed on second screen 107 along with the VGC received from the HMD102.

Accordingly, the interactivity by other users who may be co-located orremote from an HMD user can be social, interactive, and more immersiveto both the HMD user and users that may be viewing the content played bythe HMD user on a second screen 107. As illustrated, the client system106 can be connected to the Internet 110. The Internet can also provideaccess to the client system 106 to content from various content sources120. The content sources 120 can include any type of content that isaccessible over the Internet.

Such content, without limitation, can include video content, moviecontent, streaming content, social media content, news content, friendcontent, advertisement content, etc. In one embodiment, the clientsystem 106 can be used to simultaneously process content for an HMDuser, such that the HMD is provided with multimedia content associatedwith the interactivity during gameplay. The client system 106 can thenalso provide other content, which may be unrelated to the video gamecontent to the second screen. The client system 106 can, in oneembodiment receive the second screen content from one of the contentsources 120, or from a local user, or a remote user.

FIG. 3 conceptually illustrates the function of the HMD 102 inconjunction with an executing video game, in accordance with anembodiment of the disclosure. The executing video game is defined by agame engine 320 which receives inputs to update a game state of thevideo game. The game state of the video game can be defined, at least inpart, by values of various parameters of the video game which definevarious aspects of the current gameplay, such as the presence andlocation of objects, the conditions of a virtual environment, thetriggering of events, user profiles, view perspectives, etc.

In the illustrated embodiment, the game engine receives, by way ofexample, controller input 314, audio input 316 and motion input 318. Thecontroller input 314 may be defined from the operation of a gamingcontroller separate from the HMD 102, such as a handheld gamingcontroller (e.g. Sony DUALSHOCK®4 wireless controller, Sony PlayStation®Move motion controller) or glove interface object 104 a. By way ofexample, controller input 314 may include directional inputs, buttonpresses, trigger activation, movements, gestures, or other kinds ofinputs processed from the operation of a gaming controller. The audioinput 316 can be processed from a microphone 302 of the HMD 102, or froma microphone included in the image capture device 108 or elsewhere inthe local environment. The motion input 318 can be processed from amotion sensor 300 included in the HMD 102, or from image capture device108 as it captures images of the HMD 102. The game engine 320 receivesinputs which are processed according to the configuration of the gameengine to update the game state of the video game. The game engine 320outputs game state data to various rendering modules which process thegame state data to define content which will be presented to the user.

In the illustrated embodiment, a video rendering module 322 is definedto render a video stream for presentation on the HMD 102. The videostream may be presented by a display/projector mechanism 310, and viewedthrough optics 308 by the eye 306 of the user. An audio rendering module304 is configured to render an audio stream for listening by the user.In one embodiment, the audio stream is output through a speaker 304associated with the HMD 102. It should be appreciated that speaker 304may take the form of an open air speaker, headphones, or any other kindof speaker capable of presenting audio.

In one embodiment, a gaze tracking camera 312 is included in the HMD 102to enable tracking of the gaze of the user. The gaze tracking cameracaptures images of the user's eyes, which are analyzed to determine thegaze direction of the user. In one embodiment, information about thegaze direction of the user can be utilized to affect the videorendering. For example, if a user's eyes are determined to be looking ina specific direction, then the video rendering for that direction can beprioritized or emphasized, such as by providing greater detail or fasterupdates in the region where the user is looking. It should beappreciated that the gaze direction of the user can be defined relativeto the head mounted display, relative to a real environment in which theuser is situated, and/or relative to a virtual environment that is beingrendered on the head mounted display.

Broadly speaking, analysis of images captured by the gaze trackingcamera 312, when considered alone, provides for a gaze direction of theuser relative to the HMD 102. However, when considered in combinationwith the tracked location and orientation of the HMD 102, a real-worldgaze direction of the user can be determined, as the location andorientation of the HMD 102 is synonymous with the location andorientation of the user's head. That is, the real-world gaze directionof the user can be determined from tracking the positional movements ofthe user's eyes and tracking the location and orientation of the HMD102. When a view of a virtual environment is rendered on the HMD 102,the real-world gaze direction of the user can be applied to determine avirtual world gaze direction of the user in the virtual environment.

Additionally, a tactile feedback module 326 is configured to providesignals to tactile feedback hardware included in either the HMD 102 oranother device operated by the user, such as a controller 104. Thetactile feedback may take the form of various kinds of tactilesensations, such as vibration feedback, temperature feedback, pressurefeedback, etc.

At present, streaming services for sharing game replays are verypopular. The DualShock®4 wireless controller includes a “share button”directly on the controller to enable such sharing. Implementations ofthe present disclosure improve sharing replays for people who wish toexplore the replays using an HMD/VR headset. Implementations of thepresent disclosure provide for rendering of a game replay with a verywide field of view to allow the spectator to move his head freely usingan HMD and view the replay from novel vantage points. The traditionalstreaming approach would limit the replay to only what the originalplayer viewed, so that the view direction would be independent of thespectator's head position and orientation, and if the spectator using anHMD moved his head, nothing would change.

Implementations of the disclosure provide for the rendering of videos ina wide enough field of view to support novel viewpoints in an HMD. Acustom build of a game engine that runs on a cloud server (e.g. onconsole gaming hardware, e.g. PlayStation®4 hardware, in the cloud),that accepts as input game state streamed from the original player'sgame engine and uses it to render an extremely wide field of view (e.g.150 degree plus) view of the game, that can then be used for real-timestreaming and/or pre-recorded playback of that game session. It will beappreciated that the extremely wide field of view is in excess of theHMD's field of view, allowing for the spectator wearing the HMD to lookaround in the replay. The actual game is configured to stream its stateto the networked version of the engine.

As described above, there is a need to provide users the ability tospectate, e.g., watch the interactive activity being experienced byusers wearing HMDs 102. For example, one HMD virtual reality player maybe immersed in the activity presented in the HMD, while other personsmay be co-located with the player. These other co-located players mayfind enjoyment in watching the interactivity experienced or virtualreality scene being viewed by the HMD player. As used herein, an HMDplayer is one that is viewing content presented on the HMD, or can beone that is interacting with some content resented on the HMD, or can beplaying a game presented on the HMD. As such, reference to the player,is only made with reference to the user that is wearing the HMD,irrespective of the type of content being presented on the HMD.

In still other embodiments, other persons that are not co-located withthe HMD player may wish to view the content, interactivity, or mediabeing presented in the HMD of the HMD player. For instance, a websitemay be provided to present users with the ability to select fromdifferent HMD players, so as to watch and spectate while the HMD playerperforms his or her activities. This example is similar to standardTwitch-type experiences, which allow users connected to the Internet toaccess the website and search for different types of content or mediabeing played by remote players. The remote players may, in someembodiments, be playing games using an HMD 102.

In other embodiments, the remote players may be playing games orwatching content using a display screen of a device or a televisiondisplay screen. Broadly speaking, users wishing to watch the activity ofanother player that is remote, e.g., over a website, can then selectspecific players or types of games, or thumbnails of the games, orthumbnails of the content, to view the activity being directed by theHMD player. Thus, a website can be provided that enables users to viewand select specific interactive content that may be actively played by aremote HMD player. The remote viewer wishing to view the activity by theHMD player, can simply click on that content and begin watching.

The person watching and viewing the actions by the HMD player isgenerally referred to as a spectator. Spectators are those persons whoare given access to view the activities, interactivities, actions,movements, etc., but are not necessarily controlling the game action.For this reason, these viewers are referred to as spectators. In thecontext of an HMD player, the content being presented in the HMD displayis dynamic and is controlled by the movements of the HMD player. Forexample, when the HMD player moves his or her head around, that playeris presented with different content that is viewable, similar to the wayreal world viewing of a person's surroundings can occur.

Although the head movements of the HMD player are natural to the HMDplayer, a spectator that is provided the same view as the HMD player maybecome nauseous or dizzy when viewing the content due to the rapidmovements. The reason for this is that the viewer is not him or herselfmoving their head in a similar way as does the HMD player, which causesthe content to be changed based on the direction of viewing by the HMDplayer. In the various embodiments described herein, methods, systems,computer readable media, and cloud configurations are provided, whichenable spectators to view content being viewed by the HMD player, in away that does not distract the spectator nor does it have the tendencyof causing the spectator to become dizzy or nauseous.

By way of example, some of the embodiments described herein teach waysof providing different viewing spots within the virtual realityenvironment being viewed by the HMD player. In some embodiments, theviewing spots are fixed in terms of the angle, direction, and contentbeing viewable by the spectator. Thus, if the HMD player moves his orher head one way or the other, the spectator's view into the virtualreality environment may be maintained stable. In some embodiments, asthe HMD player moves and traverses through different virtual realityenvironments scenes, locations, areas, levels, chapters, etc., thespectating user can be provided with different viewing spots, which arecustomized to the viewing spectator. For instance, various viewing spotscan be pre-authored for different types of content.

If the content is a video game, viewing spots along different paths thatcan be taken in the videogame can be predefined as pre-authored spotsfor viewing by the spectator. Thus, when the HMD player moves along aparticular path, the spectator can be provided with viewing spots alongthat path, which may be preselected or pre-authored by the gamedeveloper, earlier spectators, or the HMD player. In this manner, aspectator may be popped from one viewing spot to the next viewing spot,based on a determination that those viewing spots are superior or betteror provide more interesting views as the HMD player moves about an HMDVR environment. In further embodiments, spectators may be provided withsub-portions of viewable content that is being viewed by the HMD player.In other embodiments, spectators may be provided with additional contentthat is not yet viewable by the HMD player.

Depending on the game, the environment, the type of content, the type ofmultimedia, or by defined rules or constraints, spectators may beprovided with less or more of the viewable content being viewed by theHMD player. As mentioned above, the content that is made viewable to aspectator can be the same content being viewed by the HMD player, butfrom a reference point of view that is different than the HMD player.However, in some embodiments the view provided to the spectator can besimilar to the HMD player's view, but at a slight different angle, orviewing perspective. Further, the spectator can be provided a similarview to that provided to the HMD player, from the context of a virtualcamera writing over the head of the HMD virtual player. In oneembodiment, instead of moving the virtual camera view provided for thespectator of the content being viewed by the HMD player, the spectator'sview is not moved at the same rate or speed as the view is moved by theHMD player when the HMD player makes head movements.

In this embodiment, the virtual camera view provided to the spectatorcan be moved at a slower rate than does the view of the HMD player,which changes based on the actual speed of the user's head movements.Still further, the movement of the virtual camera view can be set tofollow the movement of the HMD player's head, with a delay. The delaycan be similar to a conceptual rubber band that links the virtual cameraview to the movements of the HMD. That is, if the user's head moves tothe left quickly, the spectator's virtual camera view will move to theleft slower, with the delay similar to the way an object would trailwhen connected by a rubber band to a moving object ahead of it. In someconfigurations, a gearing ratio would be applied to the movement of thevirtual camera view, such that the virtual camera moves at a rate thattrails the movement of the actual view of the HMD player. The gearingratio may be modified dynamically by the computer, the game, and/orprogram executing the views for the spectator into the virtual realityscenes. The gearing may be modified, for instance, faster in some games,some scenes, some situations, some levels, for some users, etc., orslower in other instances. By using dynamic gearing, the movement of thevirtual camera view can be smoothed out, so as to provide a morepleasant viewing experience for the spectator view, even when the HMDmoves fast or erratic.

In further embodiments described below, spectators can be provided withvisual clues to enable the spectator to identify where the HMD player islooking within a virtual reality environment. One configuration canallow for tracking of the gaze of the HMD player, to determine whatexactly the HMD player is looking at within the VR scene. For thespectator, who may be viewing the VR scene from the perspective of thevirtual camera view (e.g. virtual camera floating behind the head of theHMD player), it would be useful to determine what is the focus in theparticular scene. In this manner, the spectator can also focus upon whatthe virtual reality player feels is important in the scene.

In some examples, and a first-person shooter game, the spectator maywant to know where the HMD player is looking, such as to identifyenemies or obstacles. In one embodiment, by tracking the gaze of the HMDplayer, it is possible to identify what the HMD player is looking at, byhighlighting content, changing the contrast of certain objects orlocations, encircle content, add a marker, grey-out in area, addflashing beacons, add text, add floating objects, etc. In this manner,the spectator can then know for sure where the HMD player is looking, sothe spectator himself can also view that same area and experience thecontent with more enjoyment.

For instance, the HMD player may be more experienced in a particulargame, or has watched a particular type of content, and providing thisindicator of where the HMD player is looking in the virtual realityscene will provide guidance, visual cues, and help to the spectator. Insome embodiments, these identifying features can be turned on and off,so as to remove distraction. The identifiers can be activated by the HMDplayer or can be activated by the spectator. In some embodiments, wheremultiple spectators are viewing the same content provided by the HMDplayer, e.g. in a Twitch presentation, each of the spectators can beprovided with different controls that provide to them the ability toprovide the visual indicators or not. From the perspective of the HMDplayer, the indicators may not be shown at all in the HMD of the HMDplayer. However, these indicators will be useful to the spectator orspectators that may be viewing the content being interacted with by theHMD player.

In some embodiments, spectators can be provided with controls that allowthe spectator to identify specific listening zones within the virtualreality environment. The listening zones allow spectators to selectwhere in the virtual reality environment they wish to listen from. Whatthis means is that the spectator is essentially provided with listeningaudio and acoustics that mimic a situation where the spectator wouldactually be present in the scene from that specific location. By way ofexample, if a spectator is viewing HMD content that includes a buildingacross the street, relative to the viewing location, the spectator canidentify some location in the building, e.g. the second-story where aperson is standing, and select to listen at that location.

This functionality provides a listening teleportation for the spectator,which allows the spectator to listen to the content of audio, andacoustics as if the spectator were sitting or standing in thesecond-story building. The audio and acoustics, in one example, wouldessentially magnify the audio sounds that would be present at thesecond-story location of the building, and reduce the sounds that arefurther away from that virtual location. In some embodiments, thespectator can from time to time, select different locations within theenvironment for being the primary listening zone. In still otherembodiments, the listening zone can also be adjusted to be the samelistening zone of the HMD player. A spectator can be provided withswitchable selection capabilities, so as to identify where in thevirtual environment the spectator wishes to listen.

Again, it is noted that the spectator can be local to the HMD player,and can be viewing the HMD content on a second screen as described withreference to FIG. 2B. Alternatively, the local viewer, being aspectator, can also be wearing an HMD, which provides spectator viewinginto the HMD player content. In still another embodiment, the spectatorcan be remote, and can be viewing from a webpage if the HMD playercontent is being published to a website that allows for viewing. In someembodiments, the remote viewers, which act as spectators, can bewatching live or substantially live content by the HMD player. In otherembodiments, the remote viewers, which act as spectators, can bewatching a recorded version of the content that was viewed by the HMDplayer. Still further, websites can be provided that allow for multipleor even many multiples of spectators to watch the same content of theHMD player, whether live or recorded.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an HMD VR player 100, who may beinteracting with a virtual environment 450 via computing device 106, inaccordance with one embodiment. The HMD VR player 100 is thereforedriving the interactivity within the VR environment 450, which will movethe scenes presented in the HMD 102, as well as the replicated viewshown in the display 107. The spectator can therefore be one that isviewing the display 107, such as spectator 140. As mentioned above, thespectator 140 is a social screen spectator, as that spectator is able tointeract with the HMD player 100 in a co-located space. In otherembodiments, or in addition to the co-located spectator 140, an HMDspectator 150 can also be provided access to the content being navigatedby the HMD player 100. The HMD spectator 150 can be co-located with theHMD player 100. In other embodiments, the HMD spectator 150 can beremotely located from the HMD player and can view the content from awebsite, such as a twitch-type viewing website. Therefore, the exampleshown in FIG. 4 is only one example, and it is possible to have multiplespectators or even thousands of spectators viewing the HMD playerscontent from remote locations. The spectators, whether they be viewing adisplay 107 or viewing the content via an HMD, will be provided withfunctionality for improving the spectating experience.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of the HMD player 100 that is moving aboutthe virtual reality environment 450, and viewing different content as hemoves throughout the scene. As shown, the HMD player 100 has movedforward in the scene, which has exposed new content, such as anextension of the road, a building 502, a golfer 504, a lake 506, a dog508, and other multimedia content. These types of multimedia contentpresented in the VR environment 450 are simply examples, and the type ofcontent will change depending on the type of content being viewed,interacted with, or displayed. In one example, the VR environment 450can be associated with pre-authored viewing spots, such as spot 1, spot2, spot 3, and spot 4. Each of those spots have a particular viewingdirection and angle into the VR environment 450.

Spot 1 is provided with a virtual camera view, which may float behindthe head of the HMD player 100, which provides a close replica of theview being produced by movements of the HMD 102 of the HMD player 100.The other spots may be decoupled from the viewing angle of the HMDplayer 100, and instead can be placed throughout the VR environment 450,based on pre-authoring by content creators, or other users that may knowwhere interesting content may reside within the virtual environment. Forinstance, if the content creator is a game developer, the game developerwill know where interesting spots may be within the different VRenvironment locations, so that spectators can be provided with betterviewing of action, things, movements, interactivity, or scenes, as theHMD player traverses the virtual reality environment 450 during one ormore game sessions or viewing sessions.

In this particular example, the spectator is an HMD spectator 150. TheHMD spectator 150 can be provided with specific viewing spots atdifferent times within the activity shown of the virtual realityenvironment 450. For instance, as the HMD player 100 traverses or movesabout the virtual reality environment 450, different content is shown,and based on the content that is being shown, different spots areselected for viewing consumption by the spectator or spectators. By wayof example, the HMD spectator 150 is provided with a sequence of spots,such as spot 1 at time t=0, spot 3 at time t=1, spot 2 at time t=2, andso on.

Therefore, depending on where the HMD player 100 traverses, differentspots may be selected dynamically for the spectator, so as to providethe most interesting views of content. By way of example, if the HMDplayer has reached the location of the golf course, the golfer 504 willbe the focus of the viewing spot 4. If the HMD player has reached thelocation of the building 502, the viewing spot 2 will be provided to thespectator to allow viewing of the building 502 and the dog 508, whichmay be predetermined to be an interesting location or vantage point orviewpoint within the virtual reality environment 450.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of an HMD player 100, interfacing with avirtual-reality environment 450, which provides a view into theenvironment for one or more spectators 150, in accordance with oneembodiment. As shown, the HMD player 100 can be interfacing with thevirtual-reality environment 450, in a way that allows for navigation todifferent areas, locations, content, or interactive features of thescenes. The HMD player 100, therefore drives the interactivity withinthe virtual-reality environment 450. The spectator 150, may be wearingan HMD 102, which provides a spectator view into the virtual-realityenvironment 450. In this example, the HMD view of the HMD player 100 canchange and can also move based on the directions, movements, motions,positions, of the HMD 102 of the HMD player 100.

In some cases, the HMD player 100 can move very quickly throughdifferent types of content, or can also move slowly or shift from slowlyand quickly depending on the activity or desires of viewing angles,perspectives, or interactivity of the HMD player 100. As discussedearlier, the movements of the HMD 102 by the HMD player 100, willprovide different scene views into the virtual reality environment 450,which will seem natural and easy to comprehend to the HMD player 100,since the HMD player 100 is driving the movements. This is similar to areal world environment, where a person can move his or her head in viewdifferent content without being disoriented.

However, when a view into the virtual reality scene 450 is provided toHMD spectator 150, the views into the virtual-reality environment mayappear disorienting or confusing. This is because the HMD spectator 150will not be moving his head in the same exact way as the HMD player 100.To prevent the disorientation or discomfort to a spectating person, oneembodiment is disclosed for providing a virtual camera 602, whichprovides a view into the HMD view of the HMD player 100, but from aslightly different vantage point. In one configuration, the virtualcamera 602 is simply the location from which a spectator view isprovided into the virtual-reality environment 450. In one configuration,the virtual camera 602 is tied to the movement of the HMD 102 of the HMDplayer 100, by way of a virtual rubber band connection.

The virtual rubber band connection or link is illustrated as couplingthe HMD 102 of the HMD player 100 and the location of the virtual camera602. Conceptually, if the HMD player 100 were to turn to the left or tothe right quickly, the virtual camera 602 tied to the virtual rubberband, will react at a different rate. The different rate of reaction canbe set by a gearing profile, which can be adjusted depending on thecontent being viewed, the spectator, or other preferences. By way ofexample, the gearing profile can be defined so that the virtual camera602 will move slightly slower than the movements of the HMD 102 of theHMD player 100. For example, if the HMD player looks quickly to theleft, the virtual camera 602 will begin to turn to the left at aslightly slower pace or rate, so that the viewing angle and motionsconveyed to the HMD 102 of the HMD spectator 150 will be smoother.

As another example, if the HMD player 100 looks up and down quickly andthen returns to looking straight ahead, the virtual camera 602 maysimply stay in the same location, since the HMD player 100 returnsquickly to the same straight ahead location. If the gearing ratio wereto increase, or decrease, the rate at which the virtual camera 602follows the movements of the HMD 102 of the HMD player 100 can beadjusted.

For instance, some spectators may wish to quickly follow along with theHMD player 100, and therefore the gearing ratio can be set to a 1:1, inregard to the relative motions of the HMD 102 of the HMD player 100 tothe spectator view. In some configurations, the gearing ratio can be setto a 1:0.5, whereby the virtual camera 602 will move at a rate that ishalf as fast as the motions of the HMD player 100. In other embodiments,the gearing ratio can be set to a 1:0.75, whereby the virtual camera 602will move at a rate that is about three quarters as fast as the motionsof the HMD player 100.

In other configurations, the gearing ratio can be set dynamically by theserver or servers executing the spectator views, which are provided tothe HMD spectator 150. For instance, the content itself can drive theselection of the gearing ratio, and in other embodiments, a combinationof the content and profile settings of the spectator can set the gearingratio. Still further, the gearing ratio can be set dynamically by theserver so that it changes from scene to scene, from time to time, orsmoothly from one gearing ratio to another gearing ratio depending onthe activity seen in the virtual-reality environment 450 or theinteractivity that the HMD player 100 is engaged in.

The dynamic setting of the positions of the virtual camera 602, so as toprovide smooth and natural views for the spectator view, can be modifiedfrom time to time by the different spectators. For example, although theHMD player 100 can be interacting with the virtual-reality environment450 during a session, any number of HMD spectators 150, or spectatorsviewing without HMDs, can be provided with different customized gearingratio's that define the reaction of the virtual rubber band connectionbetween the HMD 102 of the HMD player 100 and the spectator viewconveyed to the HMD 102 of the spectator 150.

FIG. 7A illustrates an example of an HMD player moving about with theHMD 102, to provide HMD movement 708, while providing views to aspectator 150, in accordance with one embodiment. As shown, the HMDplayer may be interacting with a virtual-reality environment, and alsoutilizing a controller 104. As mentioned above, the controller 104 isone example of a way of interacting with a virtual reality scene. Otherways can include the use of gloves that can be tracked for interfacingwith a virtual reality scene. In still other embodiments, motioncontrollers, light sensor controllers, controllers with a plurality ofsensors, two-handed controllers, physical objects, or even the user'sbare hand can be tracked for interfacing with the virtual reality scene.

In this illustration, the HMD player is shown to have moved his head, soas to view some content within the virtual reality scene. The movementof the HMD players had upward will therefore convey a view 720 to theHMD of the HMD player. The HMD spectator 150, however, will be providedwith a geared spectator view 702, which is responsive to geared virtualmovements of the virtual camera 602. The virtual rubber band 704connection is provided to illustrate that if the movement is fast, forexample, the virtual rubber band 704 may stretch up to a point, and thencause a pull effect. The virtual rubber band 704 therefore provides, inone embodiment, a physics component that imparts a type of pull and tug,relative to a virtual slack of the virtual rubber band 704. In theillustration of FIG. 7A, the geared spectator view 702 is thereforechanging as the movement of the virtual camera 602 progresses to move ina direction 730 until it tracks a current view of the HMD player.

FIG. 7B illustrates an example, where the virtual camera 602 hascompleted its trajectory to track the current view 740 of the HMDplayer. At this point, the view provided to the HMD spectator 150 isapproximately the same as the view provided to the HMD player 100.However, because the view provided to the HMD player 150 tracks the viewof the HMD player, with a defined gearing of motion and physics, theviews provided into the HMD of the HMD spectator 150 will be smoother,without the jerks, shifts, or disorientating actions. As noted above,the gearing provided for the spectator view can be dynamically adjusted,depending on the content being viewed by the HMD player. The gearing canalso be dynamically adjusted depending upon the comfort level of the HMDspectator 150. If multiple spectators are viewing the same content ofthe same HMD player, e.g., from a remote location connected to a server,each spectator can be provided with different gearing depending upontheir preferences, or content being viewed.

In some embodiments, the view provided to the HMD spectator 150 can be awider view or wider viewing angle than that provided to the HMD player.By way of example, the HMD player can be provided with an approximate100° view. The HMD spectator 150 can be provided with an approximate150° view, such that the HMD spectator can view slightly outside andaround the current view of the HMD player. This may provide foradditional viewing comfort, and may reduce the need to shift the virtualcamera 602 view of the spectator so rapidly or can simply reduce theneed to move the virtual camera 602 view provided to the spectator orspectators.

FIG. 7C illustrates an example where the HMD movement 708 of the HMDplayer produces a sharp or quick look downward. This motion of the HMDof the HMD player downward, will allow the HMD player to see contentthat may be presented in a lower area of the virtual environment scene.The motion provides the view 720 to the HMD player. However, if the HMDmovement 708 is very rapid, this may cause the virtual rubber band 704to stretch and quickly move the virtual camera 602 to a position thatallows viewing of the current seen by the HMD player. This is shown inFIG. 7D, where the current view 740 is provided to the HMD spectator150. In this configuration, a gearing setting can be dynamically set sothat when the HMD player looks down quickly, the HMD spectator 150 canalso quickly join that particular current view 740.

Although examples have been shown with regard to looking up and lookingdown, it should be understood that HMD 102 can be used by an HMD playerto look in any angle, any direction, e.g., 360° in any direction. Thus,by providing the gearing to the spectator view, as provided by a viewangle of a virtual camera 602, it is possible to disconnect the strictimages provided to a spectator that are instantly identical to those ofthe HMD player. In one configuration, this disconnect provides forsmooth transitioning of images to a spectator, which improves theenjoyment of viewing, and reduces disorientation. As used herein, thedisconnect is a movement disconnect between the HMD view and thespectator view, such that the spectator view is not required to beidentical in motion to the motion of the HMD player.

However, because the spectator is indeed viewing the content of the HMDplayer, the spectator can still track the HMD view with the spectatorview, with a smooth transitioning defining the gearing for between themotions of the HMD of the HMD player and the images provided to the HMDof the spectator 150. As mentioned above, it is possible to provideother views into the virtual reality environment, which need not be tiedto the virtual camera 602 riding behind the head of the HMD player.

Other camera view spots can also be defined into the virtualenvironment, and can be dynamically set based on pre-authored viewinglocations, or viewing locations selected by the spectator or spectators.In some embodiments, the gearing effects of the views provided into thevirtual reality environment can also be produced for spots that are notwriting behind the head of the HMD player. For instance, gearing effectscan also be provided to views that can be distributed in differentspots, as shown with reference to FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a spectator 150 interfacing with avirtual reality environment 450, which is being generated in response tointeractive play by HMD player 100. As shown, HMD player 100 may beutilizing the controller 104, and the HMD content may be generated bythe game console 704, which is provided to the HMD 102. The HMDspectator 150, may also be communicating with a local device 702, whichcan provide the interactive content for viewing via HMD 102 of the HMDspectator 150. In this embodiment, the HMD spectator 150 uses the localdevice 702, to communicate with a network 710. The game console 704 mayalso be provided with connection to the network 710. Thus, theinteractive content generated by the game console 704 can be shared tothe network 710, so that HMD spectator 150 can view the virtual-realityenvironment 450, and interact or view the content in accordance withvarious of the spectator embodiments described herein.

The network 710 is shown connected to a cloud gaming or virtual-realityservice 700. The service may be part of a cloud system, which may beimplemented by one or more data centers that are geographicallydispersed. The cloud gaming or virtual-reality service 700 may beconfigured with various processing engines, and databases. By way ofexample, the service 700 may be in communication with social data 716,which may be obtained from the network 710 locally to the service 700,or from external social networking sites. The service 700 may also be incommunication with user accounts 720, which can provide additionalservices and preference management for users of the service 700. Gamedata 718 can also be saved, and can be placed in association withspecific user accounts 720.

The game data can identify various games 722 that the user has accessto, has played, has saved status data, has saved state data, has savedachievements, has saved trophies, has saved preferences, or otherconfiguration or special programming In one embodiment, the cloudvirtual-reality service 700 can enable access to virtual-reality content724. The virtual-reality content 724 may be content that is in additionto virtual-reality enabled games. For instance, the virtual-realitycontent 724 may be content that is accessed over the Internet from othercontent sources 714.

The sources can be, for example, media developers that producevirtual-reality content 724 for specific purposes. The purposes can befor entertainment, information, business, conferencing, documentsharing, sharing of virtual and non-virtual views, inspection ofcontent, collaboration, interaction, and/or other uses. In oneconfiguration, the cloud gaming or virtual-reality service 700, may alsofacilitate spectator streaming 726. Spectator streaming 726 may includeone or more processing modules that allow for content being viewed byHMD players to be shared and streamed to remote or local HMD spectators150. As described above, it is possible to share feeds of thevirtual-reality environment 450 that's generated by the HMD player tomultiple spectators simultaneously. Each spectator can be provideddifferent points of view into the virtual-reality scenes, as describedabove. The point of view can be customized based on preferences of thespectator, or can be associated with pre-authored viewing spots withinthe virtual-reality scenes.

As the HMD player 100 moves about the virtual-reality environment, thespectator 150 may be provided with various spots from which to view themultimedia content in the virtual-reality space. Thus, the HMD spectator150 can be provided with a way of following the HMD player 100, whereinthe different view spots are customized to the HMD spectator, or can bepre-identified or authored based on knowledge of the content that theHMD player is traversing.

As mentioned above, it is also possible to have a spectator sharingwebsite 728, which can be provided by service 700 over network 710. Thespectator sharing website 728 can function similar to a Twitch site,which enables any number of spectators to virtual-reality environmentsto spectate. In one embodiment, the user can be provided with searchfunctions, to allow the user to spectate content that is interesting tothe user. The virtual-reality content available for spectating can befor live interactive content being played by an HMD player 100, or canbe recorded from prior HMD player sessions. If the content is recorded,the spectator can still be provided with the ability to interactivelyselect different points of view in the recorded session from a previousHMD player.

Thus, the spectator website 728 can be dynamically presented and updatedbased on changes to new available virtual-reality environments,currently trending environments, rankings of interesting environmentsbeing traversed by highly rated HMD players, or based on searches by theuser desiring to spectate. It should also be understood that thespectator can view live virtual-reality content of HMD players via ascreen that is not an HMD.

The screen can be of a television connected to the local device 702, orcan be a portable device having a screen. If the content is not beingviewed through HMD 102, the content can be converted fromthree-dimensional content to two-dimensional content, so as to removeany abnormalities associated with presenting VR content on atwo-dimensional display. In some embodiments, the three-dimensionalcontent can also be presented on three-dimensional enabled screens. Insuch cases, it may also be possible to use viewing glasses, which arecommonly used when viewing three-dimensional content onthree-dimensional screens.

Still further, the spectator can simply be viewing the content from adisplay screen connected to a website, such as a twitch-type site. Insome embodiments, a personal computer (PC), game console, smart phone,tablet computer, etc., may be used to view the virtual realityenvironment 450, which is being played by the HMD player 100. In someembodiments, the content viewed by the HMD player via the HMD 102 can bemodified so that it can be displayed on a two-dimensional screen. Forexample, a 3-D to 2-D conversion can be performed on the content beforeit's shared to the twitch-type service. In other embodiments, the full3-D content can be shared to the twitch-type service, and the spectatorconnected to the twitch-type service can be viewing the content via anHMD. It should be understood that the way in which spectators canconsume the virtual reality environment 450 can vary, and thefunctionality provided to spectators can also vary. Broadly speaking,spectators can be provided with highlighting to see where HMD player's100 are looking, and can also be provided with dynamic selectablesettings to allow listening a specific locations within a virtualreality scene.

Furthermore, the spectators can be provided with different viewing spotsinto the virtual reality environment 450. These viewing spots can bedynamically controlled or pre-authored, to provide specific viewinglocations and angles to the spectators. These functionalities providefor dynamic and enhanced spectating abilities, that will enhance theexperience a spectators viewing HMD navigated content. As mentionedabove, these embodiments also facilitate spectators to view the contentin a more normal way that is not tied to the rapid movements of an HMDplayer's head, which can cause disorientation or simply discomfort inwatching the HMD content.

Providing spectator viewing spots, which may move gradually or slowlydepending on the location of the HMD player, provides for an easy way oflooking into the virtual reality content being enjoyed by the HMDplayer. Spectators can therefore watch the content with ease, and areprovided with ways of improving the watching enjoyment, or participationin the game play or multimedia content viewing via the HMD devices. Byproviding these enriched functionalities, spectators are no longer tiedto the fixed viewing angles of the HMD player, and are no longer forcedto view the same exact views nor to exactly follow the motions beingdriven by an HMD player.

With reference to FIG. 9, a diagram illustrating components of ahead-mounted display 102 is shown, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe disclosure. The head-mounted display 102 includes a processor 1300for executing program instructions. A memory 1302 is provided forstorage purposes, and may include both volatile and non-volatile memory.A display 1304 is included which provides a visual interface that a usermay view. A battery 1306 is provided as a power source for thehead-mounted display 102. A motion detection module 1308 may include anyof various kinds of motion sensitive hardware, such as a magnetometer1310, an accelerometer 1312, and a gyroscope 1314.

An accelerometer is a device for measuring acceleration and gravityinduced reaction forces. Single and multiple axis models are availableto detect magnitude and direction of the acceleration in differentdirections. The accelerometer is used to sense inclination, vibration,and shock. In one embodiment, three accelerometers 1312 are used toprovide the direction of gravity, which gives an absolute reference fortwo angles (world-space pitch and world-space roll).

A magnetometer measures the strength and direction of the magnetic fieldin the vicinity of the head-mounted display. In one embodiment, threemagnetometers 1310 are used within the head-mounted display, ensuring anabsolute reference for the world-space yaw angle. In one embodiment, themagnetometer is designed to span the earth magnetic field, which is ±80microtesla. Magnetometers are affected by metal, and provide a yawmeasurement that is monotonic with actual yaw. The magnetic field may bewarped due to metal in the environment, which causes a warp in the yawmeasurement. If necessary, this warp can be calibrated using informationfrom other sensors such as the gyroscope or the camera. In oneembodiment, accelerometer 1312 is used together with magnetometer 1310to obtain the inclination and azimuth of the head-mounted display 102.

In some implementations, the magnetometers of the head-mounted displayare configured so as to be read during times when electromagnets inother nearby devices are inactive.

A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, basedon the principles of angular momentum. In one embodiment, threegyroscopes 1314 provide information about movement across the respectiveaxis (x, y and z) based on inertial sensing. The gyroscopes help indetecting fast rotations. However, the gyroscopes can drift overtimewithout the existence of an absolute reference. This requires resettingthe gyroscopes periodically, which can be done using other availableinformation, such as positional/orientation determination based onvisual tracking of an object, accelerometer, magnetometer, etc.

A camera 1316 is provided for capturing images and image streams of areal environment. More than one camera may be included in thehead-mounted display 102, including a camera that is rear-facing(directed away from a user when the user is viewing the display of thehead-mounted display 102), and a camera that is front-facing (directedtowards the user when the user is viewing the display of thehead-mounted display 102). Additionally, a depth camera 1318 may beincluded in the head-mounted display 102 for sensing depth informationof objects in a real environment.

The head-mounted display 102 includes speakers 1320 for providing audiooutput. Also, a microphone 1322 may be included for capturing audio fromthe real environment, including sounds from the ambient environment,speech made by the user, etc. The head-mounted display 102 includestactile feedback module 1324 for providing tactile feedback to the user.In one embodiment, the tactile feedback module 1324 is capable ofcausing movement and/or vibration of the head-mounted display 102 so asto provide tactile feedback to the user.

LEDs 1326 are provided as visual indicators of statuses of thehead-mounted display 102. For example, an LED may indicate batterylevel, power on, etc. A card reader 1328 is provided to enable thehead-mounted display 102 to read and write information to and from amemory card. A USB interface 1330 is included as one example of aninterface for enabling connection of peripheral devices, or connectionto other devices, such as other portable devices, computers, etc. Invarious embodiments of the head-mounted display 102, any of variouskinds of interfaces may be included to enable greater connectivity ofthe head-mounted display 102.

A WiFi module 1332 is included for enabling connection to the Internetor a local area network via wireless networking technologies. Also, thehead-mounted display 102 includes a Bluetooth module 1334 for enablingwireless connection to other devices. A communications link 1336 mayalso be included for connection to other devices. In one embodiment, thecommunications link 1336 utilizes infrared transmission for wirelesscommunication. In other embodiments, the communications link 1336 mayutilize any of various wireless or wired transmission protocols forcommunication with other devices.

Input buttons/sensors 1338 are included to provide an input interfacefor the user. Any of various kinds of input interfaces may be included,such as buttons, touchpad, joystick, trackball, etc. An ultra-soniccommunication module 1340 may be included in head-mounted display 102for facilitating communication with other devices via ultra-sonictechnologies.

Bio-sensors 1342 are included to enable detection of physiological datafrom a user. In one embodiment, the bio-sensors 1342 include one or moredry electrodes for detecting bio-electric signals of the user throughthe user's skin.

A video input 1344 is configured to receive a video signal from aprimary processing computer (e.g. main game console) for rendering onthe HMD. In some implementations, the video input is an HDMI input.

The foregoing components of head-mounted display 102 have been describedas merely exemplary components that may be included in head-mounteddisplay 102. In various embodiments of the disclosure, the head-mounteddisplay 102 may or may not include some of the various aforementionedcomponents. Embodiments of the head-mounted display 102 may additionallyinclude other components not presently described, but known in the art,for purposes of facilitating aspects of the present disclosure as hereindescribed.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a Game System 1400, according to variousembodiments of the disclosure. Game System 1400 is configured to providea video stream to one or more Clients 1410 via a Network 1415. GameSystem 1400 typically includes a Video Server System 1420 and anoptional game server 1425. Video Server System 1420 is configured toprovide the video stream to the one or more Clients 1410 with a minimalquality of service. For example, Video Server System 1420 may receive agame command that changes the state of or a point of view within a videogame, and provide Clients 1410 with an updated video stream reflectingthis change in state with minimal lag time. The Video Server System 1420may be configured to provide the video stream in a wide variety ofalternative video formats, including formats yet to be defined. Further,the video stream may include video frames configured for presentation toa user at a wide variety of frame rates. Typical frame rates are 30frames per second, 60 frames per second, and 120 frames per second.Although higher or lower frame rates are included in alternativeembodiments of the disclosure.

Clients 1410, referred to herein individually as 1410A, 1410B, etc., mayinclude head mounted displays, terminals, personal computers, gameconsoles, tablet computers, telephones, set top boxes, kiosks, wirelessdevices, digital pads, stand-alone devices, handheld game playingdevices, and/or the like. Typically, Clients 1410 are configured toreceive encoded video streams, decode the video streams, and present theresulting video to a user, e.g., a player of a game. The processes ofreceiving encoded video streams and/or decoding the video streamstypically includes storing individual video frames in a receive bufferof the Client. The video streams may be presented to the user on adisplay integral to Client 1410 or on a separate device such as amonitor or television. Clients 1410 are optionally configured to supportmore than one game player. For example, a game console may be configuredto support two, three, four or more simultaneous players. Each of theseplayers may receive a separate video stream, or a single video streammay include regions of a frame generated specifically for each player,e.g., generated based on each player's point of view. Clients 1410 areoptionally geographically dispersed. The number of clients included inGame System 1400 may vary widely from one or two to thousands, tens ofthousands, or more. As used herein, the term “game player” is used torefer to a person that plays a game and the term “game playing device”is used to refer to a device used to play a game. In some embodiments,the game playing device may refer to a plurality of computing devicesthat cooperate to deliver a game experience to the user. For example, agame console and an HMD may cooperate with the video server system 1420to deliver a game viewed through the HMD. In one embodiment, the gameconsole receives the video stream from the video server system 1420, andthe game console forwards the video stream, or updates to the videostream, to the HMD for rendering.

Clients 1410 are configured to receive video streams via Network 1415.Network 1415 may be any type of communication network including, atelephone network, the Internet, wireless networks, powerline networks,local area networks, wide area networks, private networks, and/or thelike. In typical embodiments, the video streams are communicated viastandard protocols, such as TCP/IP or UDP/IP. Alternatively, the videostreams are communicated via proprietary standards.

A typical example of Clients 1410 is a personal computer comprising aprocessor, non-volatile memory, a display, decoding logic, networkcommunication capabilities, and input devices. The decoding logic mayinclude hardware, firmware, and/or software stored on a computerreadable medium. Systems for decoding (and encoding) video streams arewell known in the art and vary depending on the particular encodingscheme used.

Clients 1410 may, but are not required to, further include systemsconfigured for modifying received video. For example, a Client may beconfigured to perform further rendering, to overlay one video image onanother video image, to crop a video image, and/or the like. Forexample, Clients 1410 may be configured to receive various types ofvideo frames, such as I-frames, P-frames and B-frames, and to processthese frames into images for display to a user. In some embodiments, amember of Clients 1410 is configured to perform further rendering,shading, conversion to 3-D, or like operations on the video stream. Amember of Clients 1410 is optionally configured to receive more than oneaudio or video stream. Input devices of Clients 1410 may include, forexample, a one-hand game controller, a two-hand game controller, agesture recognition system, a gaze recognition system, a voicerecognition system, a keyboard, a joystick, a pointing device, a forcefeedback device, a motion and/or location sensing device, a mouse, atouch screen, a neural interface, a camera, input devices yet to bedeveloped, and/or the like.

The video stream (and optionally audio stream) received by Clients 1410is generated and provided by Video Server System 1420. As is describedfurther elsewhere herein, this video stream includes video frames (andthe audio stream includes audio frames). The video frames are configured(e.g., they include pixel information in an appropriate data structure)to contribute meaningfully to the images displayed to the user. As usedherein, the term “video frames” is used to refer to frames includingpredominantly information that is configured to contribute to, e.g. toeffect, the images shown to the user. Most of the teachings herein withregard to “video frames” can also be applied to “audio frames.”

Clients 1410 are typically configured to receive inputs from a user.These inputs may include game commands configured to change the state ofthe video game or otherwise affect game play. The game commands can bereceived using input devices and/or may be automatically generated bycomputing instructions executing on Clients 1410. The received gamecommands are communicated from Clients 1410 via Network 1415 to VideoServer System 1420 and/or Game Server 1425. For example, in someembodiments, the game commands are communicated to Game Server 1425 viaVideo Server System 1420. In some embodiments, separate copies of thegame commands are communicated from Clients 1410 to Game Server 1425 andVideo Server System 1420. The communication of game commands isoptionally dependent on the identity of the command Game commands areoptionally communicated from Client 1410A through a different route orcommunication channel that that used to provide audio or video streamsto Client 1410A.

Game Server 1425 is optionally operated by a different entity than VideoServer System 1420. For example, Game Server 1425 may be operated by thepublisher of a multiplayer game. In this example, Video Server System1420 is optionally viewed as a client by Game Server 1425 and optionallyconfigured to appear from the point of view of Game Server 1425 to be aprior art client executing a prior art game engine. Communicationbetween Video Server System 1420 and Game Server 1425 optionally occursvia Network 1415. As such, Game Server 1425 can be a prior artmultiplayer game server that sends game state information to multipleclients, one of which is game server system 1420. Video Server System1420 may be configured to communicate with multiple instances of GameServer 1425 at the same time. For example, Video Server System 1420 canbe configured to provide a plurality of different video games todifferent users. Each of these different video games may be supported bya different Game Server 1425 and/or published by different entities. Insome embodiments, several geographically distributed instances of VideoServer System 1420 are configured to provide game video to a pluralityof different users. Each of these instances of Video Server System 1420may be in communication with the same instance of Game Server 1425.Communication between Video Server System 1420 and one or more GameServer 1425 optionally occurs via a dedicated communication channel. Forexample, Video Server System 1420 may be connected to Game Server 1425via a high bandwidth channel that is dedicated to communication betweenthese two systems.

Video Server System 1420 comprises at least a Video Source 1430, an I/ODevice 1445, a Processor 1450, and non-transitory Storage 1455. VideoServer System 1420 may include one computing device or be distributedamong a plurality of computing devices. These computing devices areoptionally connected via a communications system such as a local areanetwork.

Video Source 1430 is configured to provide a video stream, e.g.,streaming video or a series of video frames that form a moving picture.In some embodiments, Video Source 1430 includes a video game engine andrendering logic. The video game engine is configured to receive gamecommands from a player and to maintain a copy of the state of the videogame based on the received commands. This game state includes theposition of objects in a game environment, as well as typically a pointof view. The game state may also include properties, images, colorsand/or textures of objects. The game state is typically maintained basedon game rules, as well as game commands such as move, turn, attack, setfocus to, interact, use, and/or the like. Part of the game engine isoptionally disposed within Game Server 1425. Game Server 1425 maymaintain a copy of the state of the game based on game commands receivedfrom multiple players using geographically disperse clients. In thesecases, the game state is provided by Game Server 1425 to Video Source1430, wherein a copy of the game state is stored and rendering isperformed. Game Server 1425 may receive game commands directly fromClients 1410 via Network 1415, and/or may receive game commands viaVideo Server System 1420.

Video Source 1430 typically includes rendering logic, e.g., hardware,firmware, and/or software stored on a computer readable medium such asStorage 1455. This rendering logic is configured to create video framesof the video stream based on the game state. All or part of therendering logic is optionally disposed within a graphics processing unit(GPU). Rendering logic typically includes processing stages configuredfor determining the three-dimensional spatial relationships betweenobjects and/or for applying appropriate textures, etc., based on thegame state and viewpoint. The rendering logic produces raw video that isthen usually encoded prior to communication to Clients 1410. Forexample, the raw video may be encoded according to an Adobe Flash®standard, .wav, H.264, H.263, On2, VP6, VC-1, WMA, Huffyuv, Lagarith,MPG-x. Xvid. FFmpeg, x264, VP6-8, realvideo, mp3, or the like. Theencoding process produces a video stream that is optionally packaged fordelivery to a decoder on a remote device. The video stream ischaracterized by a frame size and a frame rate. Typical frame sizesinclude 800×600, 1280×720 (e.g., 720 p), 1024×768, although any otherframe sizes may be used. The frame rate is the number of video framesper second. A video stream may include different types of video frames.For example, the H.264 standard includes a “P” frame and a “I” frame.I-frames include information to refresh all macro blocks/pixels on adisplay device, while P-frames include information to refresh a subsetthereof. P-frames are typically smaller in data size than are I-frames.As used herein the term “frame size” is meant to refer to a number ofpixels within a frame. The term “frame data size” is used to refer to anumber of bytes required to store the frame.

In alternative embodiments Video Source 1430 includes a video recordingdevice such as a camera. This camera may be used to generate delayed orlive video that can be included in the video stream of a computer game.The resulting video stream, optionally includes both rendered images andimages recorded using a still or video camera. Video Source 1430 mayalso include storage devices configured to store previously recordedvideo to be included in a video stream. Video Source 1430 may alsoinclude motion or positioning sensing devices configured to detectmotion or position of an object, e.g., person, and logic configured todetermine a game state or produce video-based on the detected motionand/or position.

Video Source 1430 is optionally configured to provide overlaysconfigured to be placed on other video. For example, these overlays mayinclude a command interface, log in instructions, messages to a gameplayer, images of other game players, video feeds of other game players(e.g., webcam video). In embodiments of Client 1410A including a touchscreen interface or a gaze detection interface, the overlay may includea virtual keyboard, joystick, touch pad, and/or the like. In one exampleof an overlay a player's voice is overlaid on an audio stream. VideoSource 1430 optionally further includes one or more audio sources.

In embodiments wherein Video Server System 1420 is configured tomaintain the game state based on input from more than one player, eachplayer may have a different point of view comprising a position anddirection of view. Video Source 1430 is optionally configured to providea separate video stream for each player based on their point of view.Further, Video Source 1430 may be configured to provide a differentframe size, frame data size, and/or encoding to each of Client 1410.Video Source 1430 is optionally configured to provide 3-D video.

I/O Device 1445 is configured for Video Server System 1420 to sendand/or receive information such as video, commands, requests forinformation, a game state, gaze information, device motion, devicelocation, user motion, client identities, player identities, gamecommands, security information, audio, and/or the like. I/O Device 1445typically includes communication hardware such as a network card ormodem. I/O Device 1445 is configured to communicate with Game Server1425, Network 1415, and/or Clients 1410.

Processor 1450 is configured to execute logic, e.g. software, includedwithin the various components of Video Server System 1420 discussedherein. For example, Processor 1450 may be programmed with softwareinstructions in order to perform the functions of Video Source 1430,Game Server 1425, and/or a Client Qualifier 1460. Video Server System1420 optionally includes more than one instance of Processor 1450.Processor 1450 may also be programmed with software instructions inorder to execute commands received by Video Server System 1420, or tocoordinate the operation of the various elements of Game System 1400discussed herein. Processor 1450 may include one or more hardwaredevice. Processor 1450 is an electronic processor.

Storage 1455 includes non-transitory analog and/or digital storagedevices. For example, Storage 1455 may include an analog storage deviceconfigured to store video frames. Storage 1455 may include a computerreadable digital storage, e.g. a hard drive, an optical drive, or solidstate storage. Storage 1415 is configured (e.g. by way of an appropriatedata structure or file system) to store video frames, artificial frames,a video stream including both video frames and artificial frames, audioframe, an audio stream, and/or the like. Storage 1455 is optionallydistributed among a plurality of devices. In some embodiments, Storage1455 is configured to store the software components of Video Source 1430discussed elsewhere herein. These components may be stored in a formatready to be provisioned when needed.

Video Server System 1420 optionally further comprises Client Qualifier1460. Client Qualifier 1460 is configured for remotely determining thecapabilities of a client, such as Clients 1410A or 1410B. Thesecapabilities can include both the capabilities of Client 1410A itself aswell as the capabilities of one or more communication channels betweenClient 1410A and Video Server System 1420. For example, Client Qualifier1460 may be configured to test a communication channel through Network1415.

Client Qualifier 1460 can determine (e.g., discover) the capabilities ofClient 1410A manually or automatically. Manual determination includescommunicating with a user of Client 1410A and asking the user to providecapabilities. For example, in some embodiments, Client Qualifier 1460 isconfigured to display images, text, and/or the like within a browser ofClient 1410A. In one embodiment, Client 1410A is an HMD that includes abrowser. In another embodiment, client 1410A is a game console having abrowser, which may be displayed on the HMD. The displayed objectsrequest that the user enter information such as operating system,processor, video decoder type, type of network connection, displayresolution, etc. of Client 1410A. The information entered by the user iscommunicated back to Client Qualifier 1460.

Automatic determination may occur, for example, by execution of an agenton Client 1410A and/or by sending test video to Client 1410A. The agentmay comprise computing instructions, such as java script, embedded in aweb page or installed as an add-on. The agent is optionally provided byClient Qualifier 1460. In various embodiments, the agent can find outprocessing power of Client 1410A, decoding and display capabilities ofClient 1410A, lag time reliability and bandwidth of communicationchannels between Client 1410A and Video Server System 1420, a displaytype of Client 1410A, firewalls present on Client 1410A, hardware ofClient 1410A, software executing on Client 1410A, registry entrieswithin Client 1410A, and/or the like.

Client Qualifier 1460 includes hardware, firmware, and/or softwarestored on a computer readable medium. Client Qualifier 1460 isoptionally disposed on a computing device separate from one or moreother elements of Video Server System 1420. For example, in someembodiments, Client Qualifier 1460 is configured to determine thecharacteristics of communication channels between Clients 1410 and morethan one instance of Video Server System 1420. In these embodiments theinformation discovered by Client Qualifier can be used to determinewhich instance of Video Server System 1420 is best suited for deliveryof streaming video to one of Clients 1410.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced with variouscomputer system configurations including hand-held devices,microprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers and the like. Thedisclosure can also be practiced in distributed computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linkedthrough a wire-based or wireless network.

With the above embodiments in mind, it should be understood that thedisclosure can employ various computer-implemented operations involvingdata stored in computer systems. These operations are those requiringphysical manipulation of physical quantities. Any of the operationsdescribed herein that form part of the disclosure are useful machineoperations. The disclosure also relates to a device or an apparatus forperforming these operations. The apparatus can be specially constructedfor the required purpose, or the apparatus can be a general-purposecomputer selectively activated or configured by a computer programstored in the computer. In particular, various general-purpose machinescan be used with computer programs written in accordance with theteachings herein, or it may be more convenient to construct a morespecialized apparatus to perform the required operations.

The disclosure can also be embodied as computer readable code on acomputer readable medium. The computer readable medium is any datastorage device that can store data, which can thereafter be read by acomputer system. Examples of the computer readable medium include harddrives, network attached storage (NAS), read-only memory, random-accessmemory, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, magnetic tapes and other optical andnon-optical data storage devices. The computer readable medium caninclude computer readable tangible medium distributed over anetwork-coupled computer system so that the computer readable code isstored and executed in a distributed fashion.

Although the method operations were described in a specific order, itshould be understood that other housekeeping operations may be performedin between operations, or operations may be adjusted so that they occurat slightly different times, or may be distributed in a system whichallows the occurrence of the processing operations at various intervalsassociated with the processing, as long as the processing of the overlayoperations are performed in the desired way.

Although the foregoing disclosure has been described in some detail forpurposes of clarity of understanding, it will be apparent that certainchanges and modifications can be practiced within the scope of theappended claims. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to beconsidered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the disclosure isnot to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modifiedwithin the scope and equivalents of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for processing virtual reality contentfor viewing by spectators, comprising, receiving, at a server, a virtualreality stream associated with interaction by a head mounted display(HMD) player, the HMD player is configured to navigate a virtual realityenvironment, and the navigation of the virtual reality environmentproduces the virtual reality stream having an HMD player view;receiving, at the server, a request via a device of a spectator to viewthe virtual reality stream via an HMD of the spectator; sending, by theserver, a feed of the virtual reality stream to the HMD of thespectator, the feed of the virtual reality stream being provided inreal-time while the HMD player is navigating the virtual realityenvironment, the feed providing an HMD spectator view into the virtualreality environment shown in the HMD player view; and adjusting, by theserver, the HMD spectator view into the virtual reality environment inaccordance with a gearing ratio, the gearing ratio defining a rate atwhich the HMD spectator view virtually moves to follow the HMD playerview in real-time as the HMD player navigates the virtual realityenvironment, the HMD spectator view is virtually tied to and pulled bythe HMD player view, wherein the gearing ratio provides a dynamicallyadjustable delay to the HMD spectator view in relation to the HMD playerview, based on a physics metric associated to a virtual rubber bandconnection between a virtual location of the HMD player view relative toa virtual location of the HMD spectator view.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the gearing ratio is dynamically adjusted by the server based oncontent encountered in the virtual reality environment.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the gearing ratio is dynamically adjusted by the serverbased on a preference of the spectator.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the dynamically adjustable delay provided by the gearing ratiocauses movement of the HMD spectator view to change slower than movementof the HMD player view, the HMD player view moving at a rate controlledby the HMD player as the HMD player moves the HMD of the HMD player in areal-world space while navigating or moving in the virtual realityenvironment.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamicallyadjustable delay provided by the gearing ratio causes movement of theHMD spectator view to automatically change in speed relative to movementof the HMD player view, the HMD player view moving at a rate controlledby the HMD player as the HMD player moves the HMD of the HMD player in areal-world space while navigating or moving in the virtual realityenvironment.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamicallyadjustable delay provided by the gearing ratio is approximated by thephysics metric that includes an elasticity of the virtual rubber band,such that an acceleration of speed of movement of the HMD player viewcauses an initial jerk pull on the virtual rubber band that then reactsto force the HMD spectator view to follow the HMD player view.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the dynamically adjustable delay provided bythe gearing ratio is approximated by the physics metric that includes anelasticity of the virtual rubber band, such that an acceleration ofspeed of movement of the HMD player view causes the virtual rubber bandto expand and pull to force the HMD spectator view to follow the HMDplayer view.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the gearing ratio skipsor reduces following the HMD player view when the HMD player view movesfaster than the dynamically adjustable delay imparted by the gearingratio.
 9. A method for processing virtual reality content for viewing byspectators, comprising, processing, at a computer, a virtual realitystream associated with interaction by a head mounted display (HMD) wornby an HMD player, the HMD player is configured to navigate a virtualreality environment, and the navigation of the virtual realityenvironment produces the virtual reality stream having an HMD playerview; receiving, at the computer, a request associated with an HMD of aspectator to view the virtual reality stream via the HMD of thespectator; sending, by the computer, a feed of the virtual realitystream to the HMD of the spectator, the feed of the virtual realitystream being provided in real-time while the HMD player is navigatingthe virtual reality environment, the feed providing an HMD spectatorview into the virtual reality environment being navigated by the HMDplayer; and adjusting, by the computer, the HMD spectator view into thevirtual reality environment in accordance with a gearing ratio, thegearing ratio defining a rate at which the HMD spectator view virtuallymoves to follow the HMD player view in real-time as the HMD playernavigates the virtual reality environment, the HMD spectator view isvirtually tied to and pulled by the HMD player view, wherein the gearingratio provides a dynamically adjustable delay to the HMD spectator viewin relation to the HMD player view based on a physics metric associatedto a virtual rubber band connection between a virtual location of theHMD player view relative to a virtual location of the HMD spectatorview.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the gearing ratio isdynamically adjusted by the computer based on content encountered in thevirtual reality environment.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein thegearing ratio is dynamically adjusted by the computer based on apreference of the spectator.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein thedynamically adjustable delay provided by the gearing ratio causesmovement of the HMD spectator view to change or react slower thanmovement of the HMD player view, the HMD player view moving at a ratecontrolled by the HMD player as the HMD player moves the HMD of the HMDplayer in a real-world space while navigating or moving in the virtualreality environment.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the dynamicallyadjustable delay provided by the gearing ratio causes movement of theHMD spectator view to automatically change in speed relative to movementof the HMD player view, the HMD player view moving at a rate controlledby the HMD player as the HMD player moves the HMD of the HMD player in areal-world space while navigating or moving in the virtual realityenvironment.
 14. The method of claim 9, wherein the dynamicallyadjustable delay provided by the gearing ratio is approximated by thephysics metric that includes an elasticity of the virtual rubber band,such that an acceleration of speed of movement of the HMD player viewcauses an initial jerk pull on the virtual rubber band that then reactsto force the HMD spectator view to follow the HMD player view.
 15. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the dynamically adjustable delay provided bythe gearing ratio is approximated by the physics metric that includes anelasticity of the virtual rubber band, such that an acceleration ofspeed of movement of the HMD player view causes the virtual rubber bandto expand and pull to force the HMD spectator view to follow the HMDplayer view.
 16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium havingprogram instructions for processing virtual reality content for viewingby spectators, comprising, program instructions for processing, at acomputer, a virtual reality stream associated with interaction by a headmounted display (HMD) worn by an HMD player, the HMD player isconfigured to navigate a virtual reality environment, and the navigationof the virtual reality environment produces the virtual reality streamhaving an HMD player view; program instructions for receiving, at thecomputer, a request associated with an HMD of a spectator to view thevirtual reality stream via an HMD of the spectator; program instructionsfor sending, by the computer, a feed of the virtual reality stream tothe HMD of the spectator, the feed of the virtual reality stream beingprovided in real-time while the HMD player is navigating the virtualreality environment, the feed providing an HMD spectator view into thevirtual reality environment being navigated by the HMD player; andprogram instructions for adjusting, by the computer, the HMD spectatorview into the virtual reality environment in accordance with a gearingratio, the gearing ratio defining a rate at which the HMD spectator viewvirtually moves to follow the HMD player view in real-time as the HMDplayer navigates the virtual reality environment, the HMD spectator viewis virtually tied to and pulled by the HMD player view, wherein thegearing ratio provides a dynamically adjustable delay to the HMDspectator view in relation to the HMD player view based on a physicsmetric associated to a virtual rubber band connection between a virtuallocation of the HMD player view relative to a virtual location of theHMD spectator view.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 16, wherein the dynamically adjustable delay provided by thegearing ratio causes movement of the HMD spectator view to change orreact slower than movement of the HMD player view, the HMD player viewmoving at a rate controlled by the HMD player as the HMD player movesthe HMD of the HMD player in a real-world space while navigating ormoving in the virtual reality environment.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the dynamically adjustabledelay provided by the gearing ratio causes movement of the HMD spectatorview to automatically change in speed relative to movement of the HMDplayer view, the HMD player view moving at a rate controlled by the HMDplayer as the HMD player moves the HMD of the HMD player in a real-worldspace while navigating or moving in the virtual reality environment. 19.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein thedynamically adjustable delay provided by the gearing ratio isapproximated by the physics metric that includes an elasticity of thevirtual rubber band, such that an acceleration of speed of movement ofthe HMD player view causes an initial jerk pull on the virtual rubberband that then reacts to force the HMD spectator view to follow the HMDplayer view in accordance to the gearing ratio.